BBQ Bean Sliders

To kick off Independence Day weekend (yeah, this post has languished for a bit), we made BBQ bean sliders topped with cole slaw. I found this recipe on Budget Bytes a long time ago and loved it when we made it before, but these pictures have been sitting in our blog drafts waiting for me to put words to them since the first time I made it. Oops. Well, now that we made it again this summer, what better time to talk about it than now?

The ingredients for this recipe were:

For the bean sliders:
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.60)
- 2 or 3 garlic cloves ($0.10)
- 1 tbsp olive oil ($0.20)
- 1 can black beans ($0.75)
- 1 can pinto beans ($0.75)
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce ($0.50)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 8 mini hamburger buns ($1.69)

For the cole slaw:

- 10 oz bag shredded green cabbage ($1.69)

- 3-5 green onions ($0.50)

- 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.36)

- 1/2 tbsp honey ($0.10)

- 1 tsp dijon mustard ($0.15)

- 1 tsp red wine vinegar ($0.10)

- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.05)

- pepper to taste ($0.05)

The total came out to about $4.64 for the bean sliders and $3 for the slaw. Not bad since it makes a good amount for dinner and sometimes even makes leftovers.

Making the beans and the slaw was fairly straightforward. I pretty much did exactly what the recipe said. The short version for the beans is: saute onion and garlic until soft, add beans + BBQ sauce + paprika, stir and cook until warm. You can prepare the slaw while the beans are cooking. Combine cabbage and green onions. Make dressing in separate bowl with the mayo, honey, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and then add to cabbage and mix well. Lately I've been preparing the slaw a day in advance to let the flavors meld overnight.

We like this recipe. I guess how much you like it in part depends on the BBQ sauce you use and how much you like it, since that's the predominant flavor. We usually only make this with Sweet Baby Ray's, since the sweet and less tart flavor works very well with the beans and with the slaw. The overall flavor of the combination is great, and it's a nice substitute for a day when you want to go meatless.

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's vegetarian, it's not incredibly expensive, and it's packed full of delicious flavor. Although I adapt a lot of recipes, this is one where I stay pretty faithful to the original, because it doesn't really need anything else! Also, the cole slaw is fantastic accompanying the beans, but it also works really well solo. We've even brought it to a potluck!

I don't really have any insights or new thoughts or adaptations on this recipe, but just wanted to share with you all a recipe that I really love eating. I definitely want to keep this recipe in our regular rotation.